NEWS

Imagine living in a prison with clogged toilets that overflow. Or taking a shower with your feet in stagnant water that won't drain. Then imagine that you started a petition on Change.org to change those conditions and over 10,000 people signed on in support. But when you asked prison officials to meet and discuss these issues with you, they refused.

It's hard to believe but officials at the California Division of Juvenile Justice are refusing to allow just two young people currently housed at their Ventura, CA facility to attend a meeting with DJJ officials and representatives from the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. Lino Silva is one of the youths who is not being allowed to attend this meeting.

Lino started a petition that now has more than 10,000 signatures and asks the Division of Juvenile Justice to address the Ventura facility’s broken toilets, stagnant water, sewage, and exposure to chemical agents. So what was the DJJ's response?

Hey everyone! It's William from Change.org. I wanted to pass on this message from Stef Gray about the amazing progress her campaign against Sallie Mae's "unemployment penalty" is making. Read on:

Whoa! Sallie Mae just blinked!

Today, only a couple of hours after I delivered 77,000 petition signatures from Change.org users to Sallie Mae’s front door, the company issued a statement saying that it would start applying its $50 per loan forbearance fee to customers’ loan balances instead of simply pocketing the cash. They’re obviously hearing your voices loud and clear!

I want to recognize how big Sallie Mae’s shift is. Previously, the company had called this fee a “good faith deposit”, even though it wasn’t a deposit at all! After so many people doubted Sallie Mae could be moved even a little bit, this policy change certainly comes as welcome news.

But it still isn’t enough, and my campaign isn’t over. Their move today does nothing to help borrowers like me, who graduated into the worst job market for new grads since World War II. The unemployed, the underemployed, and others facing economic hardship have no extra money to pay this onerous penalty.

The fact is, there’s still no reason Sallie Mae should be charging its private loan customers this fee when it’s not charged to their federal loan customers. The United States federal government doesn’t think people need to leave a “good-faith deposit” when requesting a forbearance for financial hardship -- why does Sallie Mae think this is necessary?

In fact, there are lots of questions Sallie Mae needs to publicly answer:

• Instead of this half-measure, why doesn’t Sallie Mae go all the way to remove this onerous burden from its worst-off borrowers?
• Does Sallie Mae still earn interest off the fees until they're released to borrowers?
• More importantly, do they get to continue counting the fees as cash on their financial books until the fee is applied to the loans?
• The Associated Press reports that their new policy will be retroactive to January 1 of this year. Why not make it retroactive to when they began charging this fee? This doesn’t give me back the $300 I’ve already paid!
• Why doesn’t Sallie Mae offer any forms of consolidation or income-based repayment to its student debtors?

It’s obvious to me that Sallie Mae isn’t at all serious about providing relief to distressed borrowers. Thankfully, there’s more you can do to push Sallie Mae to do the right thing:

• You can call Sallie Mae spokeswoman Patricia Christel at (302) 283-4076 and tell her you want them to drop their unemployment penalty. Here’s a sample script you can use:My name is _____, and I’m calling because Sallie Mae needs to go all the way to help distressed borrowers. Drop the unemployment penalty now!
• You can post a message to their Facebook Wall- here’s a sample message you can use:I won’t be fooled by Sallie Mae’s financial tricks and half-measures. If you’re serious about helping distressed borrowers like Stef Gray, you need to offer a real solution. Drop your unemployment penalty NOW! http://t.co/fiFCxMdG
• You can also call them out on Twitter! Just post this message:No more tricks! If @SallieMae is serious about helping distressed borrowers, they’ll drop the unemployment penalty NOW! http://chn.ge/SallieMae

I understand that my student debt is my responsibility. It’s a debt I want to pay back. But when my mom told me that education was the key to my future, neither of us knew the game was so rigged against borrowers like me. No student considering college, or who’s in college now, should be duped into using Sallie Mae’s private financial products.

-- Stef Gray

On February 8th, 2012, please join parents, clergy, and medical professionals at 7am in front of the Duval County Courthouse in Jacksonville, Florida (330 East Bay Street), in a peaceful protest against the handling of Cristian Fernandez in the adult justice system. Cristian was barely 12 years old when he was charged as an adult in the death of his brother. If he is convicted on February 27th he faces life without parole.

The case of Cristian Fernandez has attracted local, state, national and even international attention through a Change.org petition created by Melissa Higgins, a mother concerned about the treatment of children in America's criminal justice system. Almost 180,000 people and organizations have signed Melissa's petition asking Florida State Attorney Angela Corey to reverse the decision to try Cristian as an adult.

If you have questions about the rally or would like to confirm you participation, you can send and email to savecristian@yahoo.com and you can find additional information at savecristian.org.

The rally was set to coincide with a 9am hearing at the courthouse where the judge would rule on motions filed by the defense, but that hearing has since been canceled. Cristian's supporters will still convene and display support for him.

EVENT DETAILS:
When: Wednesday, February 8, starting at 7am
Where: Duval County Courthouse, 330 East Bay Street (Google Map)
What: A peaceful rally/protest against the handling of Cristian in adult court
How: Participants will be given signs to hold and/or other visuals
Who: The rally is being organized by Melissa Higgins, Alicia Torres

Here is a flyer you may print and distribute advertising this event:
http://justice4juveniles.com/cristianfernandezfiles/pdfs/feb8flyer3.pdf

Seven months ago, Rose Escobar’s worst nightmare came true. Her husband, loving father to then 1-year-old baby Walter and the main financial provider for the family, was picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and placed in detention. A faulty lawyer had advised him not to attend a hearing to renew the Temporary Protected Status that was granted to him as an immigrant fleeing violence and natural disasters in El Salvador, and this had triggered a deportation order.

What followed were the most difficult months of Rose’s life as she struggled to make ends meet and provide for her son who stood in front of the window everyday calling for his dad. But an amazing thing happened—after Rose started a campaign on Change.org to free her husband, thousands began to sign. FIEL Houston, a local student-led organization, saw her petition and offered to help, staging a vigil in front of the detention center attended by more than 50 local supporters. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee got involved and contacted ICE on Rose’s behalf. And after more than 4,000 signed Rose’s petition and the story was covered by the Houston Chronicle and multiple local TV stations, Jose was finally freed and is now home with his family.

A dozen people gathered outside of Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark, New Jersey, on Tuesday to hold vigil for the release of Charbel "Charley" Chehoud. Among the people who attended and shared stories about Charley were faith leaders, advocates, friends and family, and even a Jersey City police officer. Charley has been in detention for over a year and has spent the last 32 days in solitary confinement. But he has committed no crimes. In fact, he helped solve them. After exhausting her resources fighting for Charley's release,  his fiance Veronica Garcia started a Change.org petition that to date has nearly 15,000 signatures.

Charley is known as a local hero in his community. New Jersey police had deemed a brutal murder an accident, but Charley bravely came forward with a tip he heard from a co-worker that solved the case. Since then, he has worked undercover as a police informant for years, risking his life to make his community safer.

Charley was detained after missing a court date in his battle for asylum. He continues to be held by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, in spite of the calls for his release -- some of those calls even coming from local New Jersey law enforcement officials who worked with Charley. Says Jessica Fernandez, a Jersey City police officer who attended Tuesday's vigil, "Charley had the utmost respect for police and people in uniform." And then later, "The conditions he's being held in - no time outside, visitors refused - are shocking. They are treating him like a hardcore criminal."

If you're a football fan, you're gearing up to root for the Giants or Patriots this weekend. But if you're one of the 119,000 people who have signed GREY2K USA's petition on Change.org, then you're rooting for the greyhounds. Not the ones that will be "racing" against Mr. Quiggly, the French bulldog in the Skechers commercial, but the ones behind-the-scenes of the ad. The ones who suffer in cramped cages at the track and who face serious injury during races where the ad was filmed .

From Boston to Los Angeles, Skechers stores were confronted this past weekend by dog lovers asking consumers to boycott the company unless it drops its Super Bowl ad filmed at the notorious Tucson Greyhound Park. The controversy has dominated the pre-game advertising buzz.

Now, with only 5 days left, GREY2K USA is asking its supporters to keep up the momentum. From GREY2K USA, here are 5 things you can do:

In 2009, the Florida Supreme Court ruled in favor of limiting the shackling of children in Florida courtrooms. In fact, they called the practice "repugnant, degrading [and] humiliating." But because he's being tried as an adult in Jacksonville, Florida, 13-year-old Cristian Fernandez is likely to walk into his February 8 hearing wearing shackles.

Following the justices' ruling, the shackling of a child in Florida could only be done if that child was determined to be a substantial flight risk, have a history of disruptive courtroom behavior, or be a danger to him/herself or others in the court. No statement has been made regarding whether or not Cristian Fernandez meets this criteria.

In an email to a Jacksonville resident concerned about the shackling of young Cristian, State Attorney Angela Corey stated that the decision to remove the shackles is up to Duval County Judge Mallory Cooper and chief bailiff, Lt. Weintraub of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.

Alicia Torres is a Jacksonville resident and the mother of one of Cristian Fernandez's former classmates. When she heard that Cristian was likely to be shackled during the trials, she wrote an open letter to Judge Mallory Cooper and Lt. Weintraub and posted it to her Change.org petition kindly asking that they remove the degrading and dehumanizing shackles and follow the Florida Supreme Court's ruling on the issue. Now, her petition is taking off! Nearly 200 people have signed in just the last few days.

Read Alicia's letter below and sign her petition here: https://www.change.org/petitions/shackling-children-is-wrong

An Open Letter to Duval County Judge Mallory Cooper and Lt. Steve Weintraub of Jacksonville Sherrif's Office

We are writing to you in the hopes that you will allow 13 year-old Cristian Fernandez to attend his hearings and trial without being shackled.

The Florida Supreme Court banned the indiscriminate shackling of juveniles in 2009 stating "We find the indiscriminate shackling of children in Florida courtrooms as described in the NJDC's Assessment repugnant, degrading, humiliating and contrary to the stated primary purposes of the juvenile justice system and to the principles of therapeutic justice,"  in an unsigned 6-1 opinion.

Because Cristian is being tried in adult court, there is a loophole that allows him to be shackled. But the shackling of this young child is not necessary for the safety of others or to keep Cristian from escaping. The use of shackles on him is a dehumanizing and degrading act.

The decision to move Cristian's case to the adult courts is hotly contested by hundreds of thousands of people throughout the world - many are citizens of our great state. But that's not what this is about. Common sense, human kindness, and Florida state law tells us that the shackling of a 13 year old boy is wrong - thats why the Supreme Court banned it unless absolutely necessary.

This petition is meant only as a means of showing you that there is widespread support for Florida's statutes against shackling children. We understand this is an unusual and complicated case and thank you for your service - but we also hope you will take into account that Cristian Fernandez has been in custody for nearly a year now and has not had any incidents or indication that he needs to be shackled.

I started this petition because I am a parent and the mother of one of Cristian's former classmates. I believe in Florida's statutes against shackling juveniles and I believe in our country's system of due process which says that Cristian is innocent until proven guilty.

Please do the right thing and allow Cristian to attend his hearings without shackles.

Facebook recently launched a "Women Connect" app, calling it "an online platform for organizations and causes to connect and share information with supporters about issues of gender equality and women’s empowerment.” Apparently, it's a part of Facebook's "Diversity campaign."

Taking action to further gender justice is admirable, but some people see Facebook's internal actions as out of step with this stated mission. The top comment to greet me on the Women Connect page, ranked up through users hitting the "Like" button, reads: "I'm glad that FB is supporting this but they also need to get their own house in order - for example by taking down misogynist & pro-rape pages and dropping their stupid censorship against images of breastfeeding."

The almost 200,000 people who signed the Change.org petition demanding that Facebook remove pages promoting sexual violence and violence against women would most likely agree. As would the thousands of Change.org members telling Facebook to leave breastfeeding pictures alone.

In November, Facebook took some action after a #notfunnyfacebook Day of Action on Twitter denounced their excuse for pro-rape pages: "what one person finds offensive another can find entertaining – just as telling a rude joke won’t get you thrown out of your local pub, it won’t get you thrown off Facebook." A number of pro-violence pages were removed, but Facebook still missed the point, permitting the hate content to remain live if the tag [Humor] or [Satire] was simply added in front of the page title. Facebook users can report content as abusive internally, however when the policy is to protect rape apologism, that won't get rid of the pages.

We typically don’t think about the people who make our iPhones, computers and iPods.  They come to us in perfectly white boxes from the Apple store, ready to be played with.  Rarely do we consider the hands that made them, the human cost associated with them.  But thanks to some incredible investigative reporting by Mike Daisey and the New York Times and fast action by an Apple customer, the barrier between the makers and buyers of Apple products has been lifted.

As soon as NPR’s “This American Life” and the New York Times issued investigate reports of the working conditions at Apple’s factories in China, self-professed Apple-lover Mark Shields knew he had to take action.  So he started a petition on Change.org calling on Apple, Inc. to release a worker protection strategy for new product releases and publish the results of the Fair Labor Association’s monitoring of its suppliers.  Mark expected that his petition would resonate with his fellow Apple-lovers but he was completely blown away by the incredible level of support it drew.

By Sasha Kinney

Lamu community members have submitted a legal petition arguing that the Government of Kenya (GOK) has violated several sections of the Kenyan constitution with its implementation of the proposed Lamu Port-Southern Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) by failing to provide information, consult the community, and carry out an environmental impact assessment.

Lamu is a region rich in both ecological and cultural diversity, which has allowed it to be recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Lamu is not only endowed with biodiversity on the mainland, but additionally has some of the richest marine ecology on the Kenyan coastline. Unfortunately, many of the wildlife lie close to proposed LAPSSET site, while coral reefs that are a major tourist attraction in the area are in the heart of the Manda Bay site where the ships would have to sail through to get to the proposed port. The shores are lined with mangrove forests, where fish are known to breed in plenty. Considering that the residents of Lamu are highly dependent on fishing and local tourism as the major livelihood strategies, the Lamu Port, and other proposed projects for the transport and communication corridor, will undoubtedly have insurmountable negative effects on the local communities and environs.